MK Party calls on Ramaphosa to resign
Party supporters who marched to the Union Buildings and police headquarters in Pretoria on Friday to hand over memorandums also demanded that suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu be prosecuted.
This comes after KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's explosive allegations that Mchunu was interfering with police investigations..
The marchers handed over a memorandum at the South African Police Service headquarters in the capital to demand that Mkhwanazi be protected.
MK Party national organiser Joe Ndlela read out the memorandum, giving the government 14 days to respond to the party's demands.
'Our demands are as follows, we demand President Cyril Ramaphosa resign immediately, the immediate arrest of those implicated by KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Senzo Mchunu to be fired immediately, the immediate unsealing of the C17 bank statements and accountability for the Phala Phala case,' he said.
The memorandum was accepted by Lt-Gen Samo Chamane, on behalf of national police commissioner Fannie Masemola.
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IOL News
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When Ramaphosa finally faced the nation, the address was characteristically and predictably underwhelming. All opposition parties took potshots at Ramaphosa. Those who were disappointed in Ramaphosa's utterances have themselves to blame. First, Ramaphosa is not a man of courage. He has no backbone. Placed in a prickly situation, his instinct is to choose ANC's interests over those of the country. Second, Ramaphosa and the ANC have demonstrated that an oath to uphold and protect the constitution is politically meaningless. Third, Ramaphosa does not come with clean hands. The Phala Phala farmgate scandal must have weighed heavily on his mind. The independent parliamentary panel, comprising luminaries in law, found Ramaphosa to be possibly guilty of serious misconduct of violating section 96(2)(b) by acting in a way that is inconsistent with his office. Ramaphosa was also found to have violated section 96(2)(b) by exposing himself to a situation involving a conflict between his official responsibilities and his private business. The panel concluded that. 'Viewed as a whole, the information presented to the Panel, prima facie, establishes that (1) There was a deliberate intention not to investigate the commission of the crimes committed at Phala Phala openly.' The damning findings by the former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo-led panel have not triggered the usual knee-jerk reaction that we have come to expect from the self-appointed custodians of constitutionalism. If anything, they have been conspicuously silent and absent. Confronted by the ever-lingering prospect of possible impeachment of Ramaphosa over the farmgate scandal, the ANC did what it does best. It closed ranks and squashed parliament's attempt to establish a Multi-Party Committee to investigate its leader. An annoyed Thabo Mbeki wrote. 'Are we [the ANC] saying that we suspect or know that he (Ramaphosa) has done something impeachable and therefore decided that we must protect our president at all costs by ensuring that no Multi-Party Committee is formed?...... We acted as we did [as if] there was something to hide'. There is no way that Ramaphosa was going to throw Mchunu, one of his supporters, under the bus without facing serious political repercussions. The establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry was the only safe route open to Ramaphosa. It enables Ramaphosa to postpone addressing a tricky political question of dispensing with Mchunu's services. Be that as it may, the inquiry should not prevent the police from conducting criminal investigations against those implicated in the alleged commission of crimes. Neither does the commission absolve parliament of its oversight responsibility. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ With a president burdened by allegations of possible criminality, it would be foolhardy to expect that the recommendations of the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry will be taken seriously. That the country can be held in suspense by a President who has proved to be a constitutional delinquent reflects the pervasive sense of lack of accountability, paralysis, and resignation that grips the nation. South Africans deserve Ramaphosa. No self-respecting country would allow this. South Africans have expressed a sense of inquiry-fatigue. They have witnessed far too many commissions without any of them leading to discernible positive effects. Some commissions were demonstrably weaponised to target certain individuals disliked by the establishment. Ordinarily, had it not been for the fact that Mkhwanazi implicated judges in the commission of corrupt activities, the establishment of a judicial commission would be unquestionable. Matters become complex if one considers the fact that the very judiciary had decided that South Africans cannot be entrusted with information relating to who funded President Ramaphosa's 2017 ANC presidential candidacy. Mkhwanazi's allegations lend credence to the speculations that the reason the CR17 files are sealed is that they may implicate some members of the judiciary or their family members. Ramaphosa is lucky. Each time he asks the courts to seal matters that relate to him, the courts oblige. This raises several questions. What happened to transparency being the lifeblood of democracy? If Ramaphosa is innocent as he pretends, why rush to the courts for cover? Who are the funders and beneficiaries of the CR17 funds? The tendency to obfuscate issues whenever Ramaphosa is involved played itself out at the Constitutional Court. 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IOL News
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Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla – the daughter of MK Party President Jacob Zuma – has threatened a 'round two' of July riots, after the party demanded the protection of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. The political party is demanding the dismissal of Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu – who was placed on a leave of absence – amid claims he orchestrated a criminal syndicate. The party also wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to tender his resignation. In an Instagram post, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla pledged her allegiance to Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi once again. The daughter of the former president threatened to rally the MK Party into action if anything happened to the KZN provincial police commissioner. Posting a flier for the party's protest march, which occurred on Friday, 18 July, she shared: 'Once they touch him, kuzonyiwa. Round two will be worse. Let's protect this man'. Earlier this month, she defiantly posted: 'Let them touch you. We're ready for round two!'. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has pledged allegience to KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Images via Instagram: @duduzilezuma_sambundla Duduzile is referring to claims she incited violence through her social media posts during the July 2021 riots. During the civil unrest, the 42-year-old former housewife retweeted several videos of the violence and looting, which was a direct reaction to her father's incarceration on contempt-of-court charges shortly before. Duduzile is charged with contravening the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (POCDATARA) and incitement to commit violence. She will appear in the Durban High Court again on 14 August. During the protest march in Pretoria on Friday, Duduzile-Sambudla Zuma and other MK Party members demanded that action be taken to protect Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Their list of demands included: Arrest of Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu Police file dockets of political killings should be returned to the Special Task Force Arrest of those implicated by Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, including deputy national commissioner, Shadrack Sibiya President Cyril Ramaphosa's resignation MK Party national organiser Joe Ndlela handed over a memorandum at the Union Buildings and told the crowd that they were giving the government '14 days to respond.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
